Text Critique
Student: Jenia Gubata
Professor: Donaldo Macedo
Apling 623
Fall 2012
`Basic Writing and the Issue of Correctness, or, What to Do with `Mixed` Forms
of Academic Discourse`
By Patricia Bizzel
There are two main issues discussed in the journal: correctness in college student writing and
variations of discourses. It is argued that even if a traditional academic discourse is supposed
to be the only discourse the students use to create their error free writing, the author Patricia
Bizzel encourages us, teachers, use also a non-academic, or `hybrid` discourse in our teaching.
The historical development of basic writing instruction can be seen in three phases: the first
one is dated twenty years ago where `correctness` was a non-problematic issue, and the lack of
writing success in school was remedied by strict instruction on traditional academic discourse
what ignores students` real abilities with language. `Second-phase scholars aimed to initiate
students into traditional academic discourse in a way that remained respectful of their home
languages and cognitive abilities` (p.5). Both two first phases of writing instruction deal with
the problem of correctness and ability to create Standard English texts; these problems occur
regardless home discourse is taken in consideration by writing teachers, and, instead of
addressing the problem, students are placed in basic writing classes.
The third phase in basic writing pedagogy is being launched by the author where she argues:
`…the unitary nature of traditional academic discourse as a target for composition teaching is
called into question, on the basis of the proliferation in contemporary academic writing of forms
that do not follow traditional criteria` (p.5). She proves that in many published works academic
and non-academic discourses are mixed and concludes that it is not necessary to inculcate
traditional academic discourse as the only one way to succeed in school, but what would help is
experimenting with both types of discourses and their mix called `hybrid` forms of academic
discourse.
The article captures in a detail the importance of students` individual characteristics like age,
gender and race, and their social class, also emphasizes on the crucial meaning of cultural
sensitivity of teachers and ability to accept different writing pieces from different students.
In conclusion, all the effective writing materials should be created locally and developed on site
with the help of existing students. If a notion of `hybrid` discourse is accepted and used in
writing pedagogy, the issue of `correctness` would not be important any more, but only student
skill and application.
Thoughts for discussion:
1. Do you personally believe that `hybrid` discourse can become fundamental in helping
students succeed in writing?
2. What are the methods that you use in your own practice to cope with the issue of
`correctness`?
3. In a diverse classroom, how do we evaluate different academic discourses?